SPIRITUAL WARFARE 11/8/24 Elder Thomas Williams

Foundational Scriptures

Psalm 144:1 “Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.”

John 4:24 “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

God will hold us accountable for how we lead our families.

God has called us to be a covering for our family.

1 Peter 5:8 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Isaiah 14:12–14 “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.””

Here begins the rebellion and spiritual warfare. Lucifer rebelled against God Almighty. He was cast out of heaven to the earth along with his about one third of the angels that rebelled with hi, Lucifer became Satan and his rebelling angels became demons upon the earth.

2 Corinthians 10:3–4 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

It is imperative that we understand strongholds. We must pull down strongholds to secure the victory. Strongholds are the reason that we do not have victory. A stronghold is a fortified place of security and revival. Strongholds are like a castle. They are hard to penetrate because thee is pleasure in strongholds. Sin is pleasurable for a season; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, the pride of life.

2 Corinthians 10:5–6 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.”

This is the remedy for pulling down strongholds.

We can not be disobedient and still have victory in spiritual warfare. Disobedience is the #1 ingredient necessary for us to defeat the enemy.

Matthew 4 ???? When we hear God, we see God in the Spirit.

In order to have spiritual victory, we must:

Hear God

See God

Be obedient

It is Christ’s obedience that gives us the victory.

If we resist the devil, he MUST flee.

Gifts come without repentance. You can still preach, speak in tongues, and pray because God is no Indian giver.

We are going to be obedient to the Word of God - to Christ. The battle belongs to God and we know that we have the victory in Jesus.

Proverbs 24:10 “If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength!” If you have faith of a mustard seed , you can speak to the mountain

Let’s all rise up to a level of obedience in the church

Jesus is the lover of my soul. The devil hates everything that God loves.

When we are engaged in spiritual warfare, we must stand and put on the whole armor of God. As men, we need to realize when we are naked and seek covering. As men, we need to understand who we are fighting against.

Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

The devil knows that when he captures our minds - he wins the battle.

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Philippians 2:5 “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:”

Let this mindset be in us. We must renew our minds.

Psalm 51:5 “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” A two year old is wild, because that two year old has a sin nature.

2 Corinthians 4:3–4“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

When the devil can control the mind of the people, the people become hostile toward God.

Peter denied Jesus three times before the cock crowed.

We must keep our mind protected from attacks of the enemy by putting on the armor of God.

Ephesians 6:13–17 “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

The two edged sword cuts away anything that should not be on me. I do not want to die and go to hell. I will use the two edged sword of God to cut off anything on you or on me that separates me from obedience to God. That’s why it is two edged. It can cut something off of me me and still cut my enemy, if necessary. i love you, but if you get in the way of my obedience to God, I will cut you. I am not going to hell for you or for anybody else.

Choose life not death